Professional Development: Conferences & Seminars: Broadcast Media Conference

PMP’s Broadcast Media Conference, held at WHYY on February 25, 2002, focused on specific criteria used by broadcasting organizations to determine music content and programming, the impact of advances in broadcast technology on the performing arts, and effective strategies by which presenting and producing organizations can use various forms of media to disseminate their work.

Participants numbered 53 and represented 39 organizations, including PMP applicants and grantees, representatives of The Pew Charitable Trusts and several of its cultural initiatives, roster artists of Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance member organizations, Pew arts fellows, and area production organizations.

The conference consisted of three panel discussions with experts in radio, Internet, and television, respectively. The radio panel was moderated by John Schaefer, host and producer of the radio program "New Sounds" on WNYC, and included Steve Zakar, producer of NPR’s "Performance Today"; Jack Buerkle, co-host of "Crossover" and host of "Jazz Encounters" for Temple University Public Radio; and Ron Knight, host and programmer for a world music channel, "Horizons," on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Panelists began by outlining their criteria for choosing repertoire for broadcast. They expressed their optimism for the potential of satellite radio and Internet broadcasting to provide a new venue for disseminating niche genres. They discussed methods for assessing audience expectations, while describing some of the restrictions radio is experiencing in the current broadcasting climate and the potential consequences to music content providers. Panelists also explored strategies for increasing the presence of contemporary classical and world music on public and commercial radio.

The Internet panel featured Frank Oteri, Editor of the American Music Center’s online magazine NewMusicBox; Vicki Allpress, an Internet marketing consultant affiliated with the online performing arts Web site GMN.com; Eugene Carr, founder and President of the online arts calendar CultureFinder.com; and Mari Katsunuma, Director of Programming at AOL Music.

After presentations on strategies for effective Web and e-mail marketing, panel chair Oteri opened the discussion with a question prompted by the radio panel’s conclusion that the Internet is a place for niche marketing that radio broadcasters are unable to serve effectively: "Can the Web replace what has been eroded in traditional media?" From there, the conversation moved through the opportunities posed by new Internet media technologies and broadcasting practices, whether genre labels are useful or restrictive in disseminating music as a contemporary art form, and additional resources for information on making effective use of the Internet in performance and marketing. (Click here to download a list of resources provided by Vicki Allpress, and see the sidebar for a short selection of Web marketing links.)

The television panel was moderated by Molly McBride, a producer whose credits range from PBS’s "Great Performances" to a documentary on Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. Other panelists included Charlie Mount, director of Classic Arts Showcase, a public television program that encourages participation in the arts by showing clips of performing arts broadcasts; Ken Finkel, Executive Director of Arts and Culture Services at WHYY; and Glenn DuBose, Director of Performance and Fictional Programming for PBS.

To open the discussion, DuBose described the submissions process at PBS, Finkel quizzed the audience on their organizations’ "television IQ," and Mount offered a demonstration of Classic Arts Showcase. Panelists touched on funding sources for television broadcasts. They offered suggestions for collaborative efforts and alternative formats to allay the high cost of producing for television, and to encourage interest in broadcasting a wider variety of arts programming.